This Is How Lois Lane Must've Felt
by Jeune Ecrivain
Summary: When Cody accidentally finds out his girlfriend’s biggest secret at a concert, he has a few things to set straight with her. Surprise crossover!


**This Is How Lois Lane Must've Felt**

**By Jeune Ecrivain**

**Rating: K+**

**Summary: When Cody accidentally finds out his girlfriend's biggest secret at a concert, he has a few things to set straight with her. Surprise crossover!**

**A/N: One of my favorite things to try to do in writing is to hide a certain element of the story from the reader and drop a few hints here and there before I write a single line that gives it all away towards the end. My goal is to make the reader slap himself/herself on the forehead and go "Ooooohhhhh!" There's a good chance some of you will figure it out before the official give-away, but let's see if I can fool at least a few people.**

"Did you get 'em! Did you get 'em!"

Cody Martin rolled his eyes at his brother Zack and plastered a fake smile on his face as he handed him two black-and-white photos, each with a signature scrawled gracefully on its surface. "Yep," he confirmed. "One for you and one for Maddie."

"Oh, this is awesome!" exclaimed Zack. "I knew I could count on you!"

Cody nodded and smiled gently at his brother. When it had turned out that, although all three of them (Cody, Zack, and Zack's girlfriend Maddie) had free tickets to the concert that had just been held at the Tipton, a so-called "fan visitation quota" meant that only one of them would get the chance to meet the young diva who'd sung the night away in person. Realizing that his semi-geeky brother could use the experience more than he could, Zack had slapped Cody on the shoulder and said, "Just be sure you get autographs for all of us, okay, bro?" Cody had appreciated the gesture, but now he almost wished he hadn't made it. "Thanks for letting me be the one to go in, man," he said, feigning happiness as best he could.

Zack nodded. "Well," he said, "time to get ready for the after-party! Maddie's changing into her new party dress, and frankly, I can't wait to see her in it."

"Actually," said Cody, "you and Maddie go ahead. I'll catch up with you later. I have to…uh…grab a snack."

To Cody's relief, Zack just nodded and said, "See you soon, bro," before taking off to join Maddie. Zack shoved his hands into his pocket, in deep thought. He walked over to the luxurious couch that accented the living room of the Martin suite and collapsed into its cushions. Unhindered by external distractions, his mind immediately turned to the daughter of the man his mother was now dating. He'd first met her when his mother dragged him and his brother to a miscellaneous social event at the hotel where she worked as a singer. She had been dating a man named Rob Stewart for quite a while then, and she'd wanted her twin sons to start getting to know him and his family. When Cody met his 15-year-old daughter, he was quite smitten with the pretty brunette. He even managed to score a dance with her. However, that was as far as he got for a few weeks until his mother stopped by her house to pick up something she'd accidentally left there. While she and Rob drifted into conversation, Cody happened to catch the only girl in the Stewart household grumbling over her math homework. Being a real mathlete, he stepped in and offered to help. This had been all it took to initiate some bonding between the two. As the Martins and the Stewarts continued to interact, that bonding continued. While Zack found a ready partner in his schemes in the elder Stewart son, Cody found someone he could really talk to in the latter's sister. Both she and Cody shared the status of "semi-dork" in their respective schools, and they found in each other a fellow member of the high school hierarchy's "middle class" with whom they could share their frustrations and desires and exchange advice.

Yet, there remained the matter of asking her out. Their parents continued to date, which could very well make any romantic relations a little awkward. Zack had insisted, however, that he needed to do it before he had dug himself so far into the "Friend Zone" that he wouldn't be able to climb back out. This scared Cody, because as he got to know her, she only became desirable. She was smart, caring, and down-to-earth. She had a way of being witty and sweet at the same time. He never seemed to get tired of talking to her and listening to her. Plus, her wide brown eyes and almost child-like features made her all but irresistible. Driven by all these reasons, Cody finally managed to take a dive and asked her to be his date to a dance at the Tipton Hotel.

The night had started somewhat awkwardly, but they somehow knew that they both wanted it to work, so they made it work. In fact, Cody had gotten his first real kiss that night, and the rest was history.

All this had happened three years ago, and they were still very much the loving couple. Now, however, Cody was faced with a sinking feeling that he had underestimated how close they really were. She had kept a whole other aspect of her life completely hidden from him for as long as he'd known her, and it was only by accident that he'd found out her secret at the concert that evening. Cody couldn't stop asking himself why, after everything they'd been through together, he didn't mean enough to her to let him in on it. Did she not trust him?

"Alright, what gives?"

Cody snapped out of his reverie and found his mom leaning on the doorway to her bedroom with a gentle expression on her face.

"I'm a mother. I can tell when something's up," said Carey Martin as she walked over and sat down next to him. "What's going on?"

Cody hesitated a moment. "It's nothing. It's just…" _Ah, what the heck._ "Have you ever thought you really knew someone…and then found out that there's this whole other part of them that they kept secret?"

"Well," his mother began, "I happen to believe that you can never know absolutely everything about someone. Finding out new things about someone is what keeps part relationships interesting."

"Yeah, but Mom,…this isn't some cute little idiosyncrasy or childhood memory or something. It's more than that. It's like…a whole lifestyle. I mean, it's not really a bad thing, it's just…something I would've thought she'd tell me."

Carey smiled gently, her suspicions about the identity of the anonymous topic of conversation confirmed. "Well,…then I guess…you have to ask this person what their reasons were for keeping that part of them hidden. And if their reasons are justified, then you have to ask yourself...can you live with that part of this person?"

Cody nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. "I don't know. I think I could live with it. It's not that serious, it's just…I wish she would've trusted me enough to tell me. You know?"

Carey nodded and opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut short by a knock at the door. She gave Cody a reassuring glance before rising off the couch. She then strolled over to the door and opened it to reveal the very person she somehow knew her son was talking about.

"Hi, Carey," said the pretty brunette standing in the doorway, an apprehensive look in her eye. "Is, um, Cody here?"

"I'm right here," Cody said in an ambivalent tone.

Somewhat curious as to what the big secret was, Carey nonetheless knew that the two teens needed some alone time. "Yeah, he's right there," she confirmed. "I'm going to go…see if they need an extra chaperone at the after-party," she added, stepping outside and gently nodding her son's girlfriend into the suite. "I'll be back to check on you guys later."

The girl nodded and bit her lip. Carey gave her a small smile before turning and closing the door behind her.

Cody stood up to face his longtime girlfriend. "Hi," he greeted softly.

"Hi," she replied. "I think we need to talk," she said. "Check that. I know we need to talk."

"I know," answered Cody.

She bit her lip again. "Are you mad?"

He sighed. "No," he admitted. "I can't stay mad at you for long. I just can't. I'm just…disappointed."

The girl tucked some wavy brown hair behind her ear and took a few steps toward him. "Cody, I was going to tell you. Believe me, this isn't how I wanted you to find out."

"How did you want me to find out, Miley?"

"That's just it," said Miley Stewart with a sigh as she sat down softly on the couch and waited for him to follow suit. "There's no easy way to say, 'I'm secretly a pop star who's Clark-Kenting her way through high school.'" To her surprise, a tiny chuckle escaped Cody's lips. "What?" she asked, somewhat relieved that Cody was actually smiling.

"When Zack and I were little, we used to love to watch Superman cartoons, and Zack would always make fun of how clueless Lois Lane was about Clark being Superman." He gave her a small half-smile. "If he could only see me now…"

She chuckled back before turning serious. "Well, if you think about it, I'm not a superhero, but a lot of the reasons for my secret identity are the same."

Cody nodded. "Look, I think I can at least somewhat understand why you do the whole dual-identity thing." It was his turn to bite his lip. "What I don't get is why you didn't feel comfortable telling me."

"Honestly,…I was scared," Miley admitted. "I was afraid you wouldn't look at me the same way. I know you like me just for me. I really do. But me being a pop star is still a big deal, and I didn't want Hannah Montana to start overshadowing the me you already know."

"Miley,…" Cody sighed, in awe of what Miley had just told him and unsure of how to respond. "Your talent is a part of you!" he blurted and decided he was on the right track. "You have an amazing voice, and if you would've just shared that with me, it wouldn't have changed anything. Not really. It would've just been one more thing to add to my list of things that make you an amazing girl. And when I say 'you,' I don't mean Hannah Montana."

"I know, I just…"

Cody cut her off by bringing his hand gently to her cheek, the sheer sensation silencing her. "You being a pop star…Sure, it's a big deal, but with everything I know and like about you without adding that into the mix, it's not going to overshadow anything." He let his hand drop and rest on the couch beside her leg. "I promise."

She smiled genuinely at him. "You mean it?"

"Miley,…I'm not going to pretend this isn't going to take some getting used to," he said. "But at the end of the day, you're still the same girl to me. This just makes you even more beautiful and more amazing than I already knew you were."

The secret singing sensation shook her head in awe, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Are you for real?"

Cody rolled his eyes. "I know. Zack tells me I'm a sap, but hey,…if it got me you, I can live with that."

Miley stared at him for an instant longer before she pounced on him and captured his lips with hers. He wrapped his arms around her slim waist and kissed her back. After another ten seconds or so of liplock, she pulled away momentarily. "I love you, Cody," she said softly with sincerity in her eyes.

He grinned like a little boy before looking at her with a gaze that conveyed equal sincerity. "I love you too, Miley."

Cody Martin never made it to the after-party. He was too busy making out with a pop star.


End file.
